Lord Lindsey fought on the Royalist side in the Civil War and was mortally wounded at the Battle of Edgehill on 23 October 1642.

He also fought at Edgehill and surrendered to the Parliamentarians in order to attend his mortally wounded father.

His son, the fourth earl, was summoned to the House of Lords in 1690 through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Willoughby de Eresby.

His son, the second duke, was called to the House of Lords in 1715 through a writ of acceleration as Baron Willoughby de Eresby.

His son, the fourth duke, was briefly Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire but died unmarried in 1779 at an early age.

On his death the barony of Willoughby de Eresby fell into abeyance between his sisters Lady Priscilla and Georgiana, Marchioness of Cholmondeley, who also jointly inherited the office of Lord Great Chamberlain (the abeyance was terminated in 1780 in favour of Priscilla; see the Baron Willoughby de Eresby for later history of this title).

The heir apparent is the present holder's son Henry Mark Willoughby Bertie, Lord Norreys (b.